"Parfois, un seul baiser suffit a tout changer.
Sometimes, one single kiss is enough to change everything." - Unknown
Remus made a face at the yellowing bruise on his chest as he shrugged on a shirt in front of the mirror in the bathroom. Bastard had hit him way too hard, if it was already yellowing away half a week later. Sirius had asked him about it, and he told him the truth – to a point, anyway. It definitely helped explain why he needed a hotel room while they found an apartment.
"I had an argument with my roommate. He slugged me. I moved out."
Sirius had accepted it without too much of a question, and they'd found a two-bedroom apartment together, that they could scrape by with payments to until Sirius got hired somewhere – his friend James had promised he had a few good deals to check out with him. Remus had been unsure about sleeping in the same bed as someone he didn't really know, and they'd agreed that they needed to learn a bit more about each other.
Sirius had started off the conversation like a champion. "Hi, husband. My name's Sirius Black. I'm 25 and I like nothing more than to be sprawled under a car's engine or hearing a motorcycle purr to life after I've worked on it. I like blokes and I'm always looking for an exciting adventure. And I've been told I have a very canine-like personality." He then extended his hand, and Remus took it with a laugh.
This wasn't at all awkward, laying sprawled together in a complete state of undress in the hotel bed. At least, that was what Remus was telling himself. "Okay, Sirius Black. I'm Remus Lu-." The grin on the older man's face made him stop, and he blinked, before laughing, shaking his head. "I'm Remus John Lupin-Black. 24, teacher. I /like/ dogs," another grin was given at that. "And I enjoy reading just about anything I can get my hands on."
"Well, you seem interesting enough, Mr. Lupin-Black. And you have pretty good taste in men." A waggle of an elegant brow, and they both had dissolved into laughter.
And then they had found a small two-bedroom to rent, which seemed perfect, and while they hardly had any furniture - two mattresses, one on each bedroom's floor, and a refrigerator - it still felt like a good home. Comfortable. And so much more lively than the apartment with Fenrir had been. They'd danced to no music, Sirius tugging Remus into some odd mix of a ballroom waltz and row dancing, and the dark-haired man had asked him to read out loud the first chapter of the book he'd had the substitute that was teaching his class for the week while he laid on his lap.
Remus wasn't used to so much attention, and Sirius was even brightly telling him that there was an easy glow to the tawny-haired man suddenly. He was flourishing under the attention, and the laugher that filled the apartment nightly. They didn't eat much; mostly fast food that Sirius ran out to get on his motorcycle. That was one thing that Remus was terrified of. He wouldn't step foot on what he called the 'metal death trap'. Still, during the day they went out, and found cheap furniture, and soon enough, the apartment was really looking furnished, and they were able to sprawl out over the couch.
The next weekend, before Remus had to return to work, they separately contacted friends and family - respectfully, Sirius called his two best friends, and Remus called his parents, and both parties were told to meet at a local coffee shop for a rather important announcement. Remus had his reservations about telling his parents and a couple of strangers about a rather hastily made decisions, but Sirius soothed those concerns. It would be fine, and after all - they'd clicked so well over that week, it was hard to believe that they wouldn't continue to. Or at least, that was Sirius's self-assured reasoning, complete with that grin Remus was learning quickly was somehow designed to make his knees weaken a little and make swallowing a little harder.
And damn it all, it worked, every time.
Sunday morning found him nervously fixing his hair - who knew that on the one day he wanted to look good, his hair was stuck looking like someone had continuously ruffled it the night before? Of course, the mutt in the other room (mutt was quickly becoming his affectionate petname for the man he was learning to really care for) was hugely responsible for that, but he didn't want to have such an appearance for his loving parents who had stuck resolutely with him even after he had admitted less that pure feelings for the same gender. His remaining friends at that point had made it a huge thing to constantly remind him how lucky he was that he hadn't been disowned for such a confession.
The previous night had been full of a heated political debate, even though they seemed to be rather in agreement on much of the issues. It still didn't stop them from becoming incensed and increasing the volume at which they spoke - until suddenly, Sirius had pounced on Remus and started tickling him mercilessly, somehow finding and attacking each of the man's weak points. Finally, breathlessly, kicking uselessly and flailing his arms to try and push Sirius off, Remus had cried out "Sirius! Sirius, stop it!" His voice had expertly sounded like he was in pain, and the dark-haired man, with that beautiful smile framed by lovely lips, had froze, quickly looking concerned.
And then he had found himself on the floor instead, the teacher pinning him to the uncomfortable, scratchy carpet, and tickling him right back, laughing easily.
"Traitor! Liar! Cheater!" Sirius had accused as he howled with laughter, imprisoned under Remus's frame, left without escape as Remus repaid him duly.
Finally, he'd gotten Remus captured once more, and commenced playing with his hair, mussing it completely, while Remus struggled to catch his breath. He was, by no means, over-weight -Sirius having even commented that his weight was disconcertingly low - but he couldn't remember the last time he had exerted so much energy into a few moments. Surprisingly, when he looked at the clock on the wall, they had apparently spent close to fifteen minutes just wrestling on the living room floor.
He'd gone to sleep smiling.
Now, however, he was almost shaking with the stress of talking to his parents. Even more awkward was the fact that he had no one else to tell - he didn't want to reveal his marriage to Fenrir just yet, and dating Greyback for so long had resulted in his few old friendships ending - noone wanted anything to do with that man, apparently, which included keeping up a friendship with Remus. Sirius had looked properly contrite when Remus had answered his question of why his parents were the only ones he called to meet with a "Don't have any friends left, other than my coworkers. And they're more acquaintances than anything."
It was better than the silence he was met with when he questioned about Sirius's lack of informing his own family. Finally, during an awkward silence during the ride to the coffee shop, Sirius tapping agitatedly on the arm rest of the passenger seat, he sighed loudly, which commanded Remus's attention. "Disowned me when I came out as a shirt-lifter. Didn't like them anyway, bunch of tight-asses, but my brother wouldn't even talk to me after. So I don't think they'd want to hear I'd gone and married some bloke on some drunken stint, no." He shook his head. "Guess I'm a little jealous that you feel comfortable enough with your parents to tell them."
"Oh... I'm sorry, Sirius." Remus frowned softly, apologetically, and laid his hand over Sirius's thoughtlessly, squeezing it gently. "Mom and Dad'll love you, I know it. If that makes you feel any better?" He offered a weak smile.
"And how can you sound so sure of that?"
"Well, you aren't my last ex-boyfriend, for one." Remus chuckled, pulling the car into a parking space alongside the street in front of the coffee shop. And that was certainly true - Remus had been with Greyback for so long, he was constantly being shocked by how Sirius treated him gently, and how full of laughter their interactions generally were.
"Well, that certainly makes me feel worthy of the title of husband, if that's enough to guarantee they'll like me." Sirius's good nature was back, thankfully, and while Remus was putting the Corvette into park, he leaned over, kissing his cheek. Oddly enough, it felt far more intimate than the few times they'd had sex so far, and Remus felt his cheeks be engulfed in a blush. He leaned back with a carefree smile and waited until his suddenly silent tawny husband was out of the car, before climbing out, himself. He tugged Remus close by his waist, arm settling there comfortably.
The cafe's bell rang cheerfully to announce their entrance, and no one really bothered to look up, much less give them a stink-eye that they were two guys practically cuddling as they walked. They went to the counter, and ordered just plain iced teas, and sat at a large table in the back. It felt automatic - hell, natural - when their hands slipped into each other on the space between them in the booth, entwining. Suddenly it almost felt like a first date, and Remus squirmed slightly, feeling like he could sink into the floor. Because the first date felt like it would soon be complete with a questioning from his father, and that had never been comfortable for him or the boy in question.
And sure enough, his parents were the first to arrive - his mother looking as nice as always, hair crimped into gentle curls, and his father looking proper. He reluctantly dropped Sirius's hand and stood, all smiles, not betraying the nervousness in his stomach. "Mom, Dad. Thanks for showing up." He smiled warmly, walking around the table and hugging them both, individually.
"Of course, darling." Catherine Lupin smiled gently, kissing his cheek while John Lupin patted his back with the same warm sentiments. When Remus turned around, Sirius was already standing, smoothing out a dress shirt they'd bought at a thrift store - he didn't own any of his own, not seeing the point as a mechanic.
"Mr. and Mrs. Lupin, pleasure to meet you. I'm Sirius Black." He smiled, and the way he introduced himself made it almost seem like he was supposed to be recognized. Of course, this was just his sort of personality, and Catherine's delighted smile broke across her face when he bent and kissed her hand told Remus right away that he'd have no problem convincing them to accept him.
"Nice to meet you, Sirius." John acknowledged with his own smile, before pulling out his wife's chair for her, before going to order them both drinks.
"We're just waiting for a few of my friends, now." Sirius told Remus's mother, laying a hand on hers and leaning in as if they were sharing some scandalous secret, and Catherine, to her credit, nodded, despite looking rather confused.
Soon enough, there were seven people sitting around the table, joking and laughing - generally getting along. There was James and Lily Potter, Sirius's best friends and apparently high school sweethearts, and Peter Pettigrew, who was the group's other best friend. Remus felt instantly welcomed into their group, folded in with open arms, and Lily was currently asking him quite a few questions about who he was.
John Lupin was doing the same with Sirius, and the remaining three who weren't involved with this double-sided interrogation were sometimes surprised by how often the questions matched up.
Finally, though, in that wonderfully theatric way Sirius often presented himself, he cleared his throat, excusing himself from a mostly sated John, and looked around the table. "Now, for why we called you lot here."
"You two are dating, right?" Catherine surmised and she looked quite happy at the thought.
"Ah... not exactly, mom." Remus shook his head and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, before Sirius beat him to the punch, lifting their entwined hands with matching gold bands.
"We got married last week!"
Silence and shocked faces met them, and Remus shrunk down in his seat slightly. "Ah... surprise?"
Then the pretty redhead who had been getting along with Remus burst into laughter, covering her mouth. "Married? You guys are hilarious! "
Author's Note: I'd just like to say thank you for the 21 alerts, 7 favourites and 11 reviews I've received for this story so far. It means so much that you're enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it.
I just want to put this disclaimer out though - I live in Southern California, and I'm only versed in California and American politics. I also don't know the lay of Surrey/England in general, so please excuse any discrepancies my story may have with reality.
